From American U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,987, equipment for harvesting lettuce is known which uses conveyors to transport the lettuce. The belt or some conveyors is fitted with foam blocks. Since the route taken by the lettuce is not rectilinear, a plurality of rectilinear conveyors is used to conduct the transport. This necessarily leads to discontinuity in lettuce support or conveyor speeds, in particular during changes of direction, and therefore carries the risk of falls of shocks causing damage to the lettuce. Also, the conveyor system taught by document U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,987 operates solely in one plane and the conveyance of the lettuce is made using the lettuce heads.
From American U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,049 a broccoli-harvesting machine is also known. This machine comprises a conveyor with two belts positioned opposite one another. Each belt is fitted with a plurality of fingers. When the belts are in movement, the fingers fit between each other to clasp and hold the broccoli stalk during its transport and processing. Although the support given to the broccoli is satisfactory, it is not possible to consider a pathway other than a rectilinear pathway for the transport and processing of the broccoli.